Bryce Harper is the frontrunner to be the National League MVP. He has all the stats to back it up; he's slashing .326/.467/.658 with 41 home runs and 96 RBI. So why are the Nationals not playoff-bound, and why did closer Jonathan Papelbon fist fight him in the dugout?
Harper, 22, has had his leadership questioned this season. His dugout fracas on Sunday was incited by Harper being called out for not hustling on a fly ball, an offense for which he was benched last season. Harper has had the best season of any National League hitter, but if he poisoned the clubhouse - pure speculation - should he win the MVP?
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Harper is not alone. The top four players in WAR are Harper, Joey Votto (Reds), Paul Goldschmidt (Diamondbacks), and A.J. Pollock (Diamondbacks), are all on teams that will watch October baseball from their couches. Clayton Kershaw, the ace left-hander of the Dodgers, won the MVP last year against conventional wisdom that says pitchers have their award, so the MVP should go to position players who affect the game every day.
But check this out
| NL Position Players | WAR |
| Bryce Harper | 9.7 |
| Joey Votto | 7.7 |
| Paul Goldschmidt | 7.0 |
| A.J. Pollock | 6.3 |
Now check out the WAR on these pitchers.
| NL Pitchers | WAR |
| Clayton Kershaw | 7.9 |
| Jake Arrieta | 7.1 |
| Zack Greinke | 5.6 |
Harper's case remains convincing by Fangraphs' measure. He's almost a full two wins better than Kershaw, which makes sense. Harper has played in 148 games while Kershaw has appeared in 31.
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But Kershaw and Arrieta are right there with Votto and Goldschmidt, who will get more votes despite not playing past this week. The argument is that they are more deserving because they affect more games, but WAR would argue that the pitchers are winning a battle of efficiency: they play less, and don't factor into nearly as many outcomes, but they have bigger value when they toe the rubber.
There is an old adage that pitching wins championships, but that gets thrown out the window when it's award time.
In this case, the Nationals' train wreck of a year was beyond Harper's control. Baseball is still a team game, and Harper isn't responsible for the injury bug that bit Stephen Strasburg, Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth etc, and it isn't his fault Ian Desmond forgot how to throw or hit. Bryce Harper is not responsible for repeated bullpen implosions. On the flip side, Harper clearly has contributed to some clubhouse disharmony that affects results in ways that aren't measurable.
Does it mean Kershaw or Arrieta should be the MVP over him? In 2015 no-the numbers are way too good. However, it's not a question that should be dismissed without diving into the numbers.
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